Life before Japan
by Shadowtolight
Summary: Vi reflects on some of her childhood while helping Tohru with her homework. Oneshot


**A/N: Hello everyone. I'm sorry I haven't been able to update Vi's Adventure's. I've been busy with water polo and studying for finals. I'm up to my neck in homework and haven't had the time to update. I do have some good news though. I have been writing up the next chapters so once break begins, I'll be able to post more.**

** This little thing happened to be the product of a short story I had to write for English. You can thank my teacher for this story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket**

I was doing my homework with Tohru at the table. More like I was helping Tohru with her homework since I had already finished mine at lunch. While Tohru was working on a simple math problem, I let myself be lost in my thoughts.

I remembered my dad before he died. He was all smiles and never talked bad about anyone. He was loved by all in our small town and I know he wouldn't want me to keep grieving over his death. I thought back to the last words he said to me before dying.

"I'll never fully leave you." I smiled, not noticing I had said it out loud.

"What was that Vi?" Tohru gave me a funny look.

I shook my head and laughed sheepishly. "Nothing to worry about Tohru. I was just thinking about things."

She nodded. "Okay. Will you help me with this problem?"

I smiled and looked over her shoulder to see which one she was talking about. "Oh. All you have to do is set up a proportion and cross multiply."

She nodded and I went back to my thoughts.

(Flashback)

I was eight years old at the time. Too young to be learning what my dad was teaching me in my mom's opinion, but dad didn't care. He said that I needed to know this if I wanted to be in the same line of employment as him. He was in the military before he met mom and I wanted to be the same as him.

"Vi. Are you even paying attention?" Dad asked with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

I blinked and rubbed the back of my neck nervously. "No. Sorry Dad."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "It's fine. Just try to pay attention this time."

I nodded and he started teaching again.

"Remember to brief your team about everything before you start strategizing. You must have a plan of action before even thinking about attacking." I nodded again and leaned back in the chair I was sitting in.

"Got it. Brief, strategize, act. Make sure to have a backup plan and be prepared to lose men at all times."

Dad smiled. "That's my girl. Now go get your dagger and we'll practice in the backyard for a bit before Mom gets home."

I grinned and nodded before running up to my room and grabbing a plastic dagger off of my dresser. I ran back downstairs and into the backyard where Dad was waiting.

"Alright. Show me your guarding stance."

I nodded and stood with my feet shoulder length apart. I moved my arm so it was across my body with the dagger guarding my heart.

Dad nodded. "Good. Now I want you to slash downwards, keeping your arm steady as you do so."

I moved my arm in a diagonal line down across my body. Dad kept making me do this until we heard Mom's car pull up into the driveway.

"Quick! Maneuver six!" Dad ran around to the front to distract Mom while I ran inside and up to my room.

I dove onto my bed and shoved the dagger under my pillow. I could hear Dad and Mom talking through my open window. I stiffened for a second before running downstairs and jumping onto the couch. I quickly grabbed the remote and turned on the tv.

I finished calming my breathing when Mom and Dad walked inside. Dad sat down next to me while Mom looked around to see if anything was out of place.

"Hi Mom." She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Hey. How was your day?" She set her purse down on the table and went into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"Okay I guess. I went over to Jasmine's today to see how James was doing." I shrugged.

Mom came back out and smiled. "That's good. How is James doing? Is he really that sick?"

I nodded. "Yeah. He looked really pale and couldn't get out of bed."

She ruffled my hair and sat down next to me. "Don't worry. Soon he'll be up and you three can play again."

I nodded and beamed. "Okay."

(Reality)

I laughed. "It's been a long time since I thought about you Dad. I miss you." I looked around and noticed Tohru wasn't there anymore. "Huh. Must have gotten annoyed with my unresponsiveness and went to go ask Yuki for help."

I let out a brief humorless laugh and went back into my state of remembrance.

(Flashback)

This time it was my thirteenth birthday. I had woken up to my parents and two favorite friends standing over me with a tray of food.

"Happy Birthday Vi!" They all shouted at the same time and I groaned.

"Keep it down. I'm still waking up." I heard James and Jasmine laugh at that.

The tray of food was set down on my lap and I started to eat. After finishing the food we all went downstairs where there was a few presents set on the table. I sat down and Dad handed me one.

"This one's from those two trouble making friends of yours. I'd be careful if I were you."

I laughed and opened the present. Inside was a black dress with flats. I glared at the twins and they gave me a thumbs up.

"You're wearing that for today so don't even start arguing with me." Jasmine smirked.

"Yep. Did you forget about the tradition?" James sat down next to me and wrapped an arm around my waist.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Fine. But don't come crying to me when you two get hurt."

They laughed and I continued opening presents.

Dad gave me the last present and gave me a huge grin. "I decided that you would need one of these now that you decided to date that boy." He glanced at James who grinned sheepishly. "Also I believe it is time to actually spar with your old man."

I raised an eyebrow and opened the present. Inside was a rectangular box. I opened the box and saw a simple dagger with a leather sheath.

"Thank you so much Dad." I squealed and glomped my dad without warning.

Dad laughed and set me back on the ground. "You're welcome, but I don't think your mother is a big fan."

I looked over to see Mom glaring at Dad. "A dagger? Really."

Jasmine and James slowly walked up behind me while my parents were arguing and dragged me up to my room. James stayed outside while Jasmine practically forced me into the dress and shoes. Afterwards, they dragged me out of the house with a smile and proceeded to drag me around town.

(Reality)

I smiled and noticed Kyo waving his hand in front of my face. "Are you with us Vi?"

I laughed and smacked his hand away. "Yeah. Just got caught up in the past."

He nodded. "I understand. Tohru wanted me to let you know that she was able to finish her homework, no thanks to you, and that she has dinner under control."

I chuckled. "Okay then. That sounds fine."

Kyo sat down next to me and we stayed silent.

I broke the silence with a simple question. "Did you know that my dad gave me a dagger on my thirteenth birthday?"

Kyo laughed. "No, but that's good to know. What happened to it?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. It was in my closet when the house burned down so anything could have happened.

He nodded. "Maybe we should check out the ruins and see if we can find any remains or the actual dagger itself."

I grinned and hugged him. "Thanks Kyo. You're the best."

Right then his curse kicked in and I was holding a cat in my arms. I laughed and walked over to the couch where I proceeded to snuggle with the cat Kyo.

**A/N: If you guys want me to continue this, just tell me in a review and I'll see what I can do.**


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